Agricultural value chains and transformation in southern Africa : opportunities stemming from the African continental free trade area

Abstract

Agriculture is the backbone of the African economy, and a major source of income in African countries (African Development Bank (AfDB), 2016). Fifty-five per cent of jobs in Africa are in the agricultural sector, which generates more than 70 per cent of the income of those living in poverty. However, outdated agricultural practices, the agricultural sector’s vulnerability to climate change and variability, and the continent’s high levels of subsistence farming continue to undermine agricultural productivity. Boosting productivity, which could help address many of the continent’s socioeconomic challenges, including unemployment, entrenched poverty and food insecurity, was therefore identified as a priority area in Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, of the African Union. The development of agricultural value chains in Southern Africa is constrained by limited technical capacity, inadequate transportation and agricultural infrastructure, widespread poverty and food insecurity, the predominance of subsistence farming over export-oriented agriculture and the agricultural sector’s vulnerability to climate change.